South Korea: Military Camps Or Torture Centres?

Out of several recent incidents
concerning conscripted men, two have sparked public outrage
and triggered a call for an overhaul of the conscription
system in South Korea.

The first case concerns Mr. Lim, a
young conscript, who turned his gun on his fellow conscripts
and opened fire on 21 June 2014. As a result, five men were
killed and seven injured. After the incident, Mr. Lim
deserted his barracks and attempted suicide. He survived and
was arrested.

Following his arrest, the question of what
made Mr. Lim pull the trigger arose. He had only three
months left before his discharge from military service. It
turns out, according to various media reports, Mr. Lim had
been suffering from organized bullying and humiliation, both
by his seniors and juniors in the military base for many
months.

The second case that has caught South Korean
public attention involves Mr. Yoon, another young conscript,
who was reportedly tortured to death by seniors 35 days
after arriving at the military camp in which he was
designated to serve. The incident occurred in early April
2014, but became public information only
recently.

According to media reports, the seniors beat Mr.
Yoon all over his body, including on his chest and abdomen.
They forced Mr. Yoon to eat toothpaste, sexually harassed
him, and subjected him to other violent bullying, all with
the acquiescence of military officials. His torture lasted
for about a month.

On 6 April 2014, he suddenly collapsed,
allegedly while he was being beaten, and while his mouth was
stuffed full of frozen food. He died shortly thereafter.
Attempts were made to cover up the incident with a falsified
report. But a senior, who was the one of participants of the
organized violent bullying, testified to the truth.

Higher
ranked military officials have claimed that practices of
torture or ill-treatment are things of the past. However,
the fact is cases of torture are not reported, since such a
case can affect the officer's promotion opportunities.
Ill-treatment persists, but does not make it to statistical
records.

The public is aware that this conduct continues
and the military barracks are places where young conscripts
have to endure a certain amount of torture or ill-treatment.
What is dangerous is the mindset of the public that such
practices are someone else's story; few are bothered enough
to try to change this practice. Parents simply expect their
sons to complete military service without getting into any
trouble. This makes it difficult to even attempt to change
the culture of ill-treatment inside the restricted barracks,
where a conscript is always at high risk of institutional
violence.

The public mocks the situation darkly by saying
that if a conscript is patient enough with his ill-treatment
in a military camp, then he risks a fate similar to Mr.
Yoon, and, if not, he risks suffering Mr. Lim's fate.
Despite there being some internal complaint mechanisms, the
conscripts are aware that these mechanisms are of no use.
The complainants are labeled as traitors and isolated inside
the camp or when transferred to another camp. In addition,
the victims are often the ones who receive disciplinary
action for "causing" ill-treatment.

A major concern, of
particular importance, is that there is no independent
investigation mechanism to address such incidents in the
military. This is a glaring omission of oversight given such
incidents are nothing new. A total of 152 bodies from deaths
classified as "failure to adjust to military life" are still
being kept in the morgue. Families have refused to take back
these bodies until a thorough and independent investigation
is conducted. For the last five years, statistics show a
total of over 120 annual deaths in military camps, with over
80 tagged as suicides.

But, there is something else at
play here. A fact reported in connection with the death of
Mr. Yoon is illustrative. One of Mr. Yoon's torturers is
himself known to be a past victim of the same crimes; he was
reportedly tortured and ill-treated when he was a
junior.

In the conscription system, these acts of violence
that juniors experience are repeated in more sophisticated
ways when juniors become seniors. No matter what kind of
pleasant personality a young conscript may possess, if he is
forced into such an environment for long, there are high
chances he will become a victim first and a perpetrator
later. This is how a senior gets reward for the suffering
experience that he had to endure in his junior period.

The
South Korean military conscription system allows for the
practice of ill-treatment to operate. And, it is even worse
when it comes to sexual minorities who are forced to choose
between a criminal records or conscription in a system that
will specifically targeted them for sexual abuse because of
their sexuality.

This vicious circle of violence has been
perpetuated since the inception of military camps for
conscripts in South Korea. It was the Japanese occupiers,
for their own needs in the Pacific War in 1944, who first
imposed the conscription system in the Korean Peninsula. The
South Korean government later resumed it in 1951. The
armistice agreement situation in the Korean Peninsula, along
with a couple of unfortunate military attacks, has
perpetuated the system for the last 60 years. Past military
governments brainwashed citizens that it is a "divine" duty
to protect the nation and that men must join the army. Due
to this widespread perception, conscientious objectors have
been consistently socially discriminated against by the
whole of society.

The Ministry of National Defence has
consistently cited national security to justify the
continued use of the current conscription system. However,
in doing so, it is the Ministry that has jeopardized both
national and human security, refusing to be vigilant against
torture and ill-treatment of its own citizens within
military camps and to accept independent
investigations.

If the state wishes to sustain the system,
it must fulfill its responsibility of taking care of those
it conscripts. Otherwise, it will be safer for South Korean
men to choose prison instead of military service. There is a
greater chance of South Korean prison inmates being able to
protect their physical integrity and, if an unfortunate
incident occurs, there is a greater possibility that an
independent investigation will be conducted to ascertain the
truth.

It is time for the public to revisit the claims
that sustain the conscription
system.

Nelson Mandela, then Deputy President of the African National Congress of South Africa, raises his fist in the air while addressing the Special Committee Against Apartheid in the General Assembly Hall. UN Photo/P. Sudhakaran More>>